The Sound's Beautiful Song
by Goddess of the Gods
Summary: After Gaara is returned home, the shinobi of Konoha must protect a former subordinate of Orochimaru. She holds valuable information that's key to saving both Naruto and Sasuke, but can this beautiful stranger really be trusted? After all, looks kill. R&R!
1. A Stranger is an Ally

This is my first story in such a long time! I'm really rusty, so please bear with me!

The Sound's Beautiful Song

Chapter 1 - A Stranger is an Ally

The mission was a success. Gaara was safely returned to Suna and there was only one casualty (who gave her life for a very noble cause).The village hidden in the leafs was disturbed by the loudmouth ninja Naruto once again after he and the several other nin involved in the Gaara mission returned home. They had only had a few days of rest when Tsunade called for a group meeting. It seemed like Naruto had only just returned from his three years of training with Jiraiya only to be thrown into a new mission like he had never left. "Oh well." He thought to himself. "I'm just glad Garra is save now."

He was currently walking down the streets of Konoha with Sakura at his side. It hadn't really dawned on him until now that she had grown up quite a bit, just like he had. She was so much stronger, and smarter too. Way smarter then he was. When he first saw her, he was a little taken back by how pretty she had gotten, not that she wasn't pretty before, but not she seemed to carry herself with more confidence and Naruto like confidence.

The two team mates were on there way to receive some information from Tsunade. Sakura had said it sounded pretty important and that they should head over there as soon as she found Naruto. Nothing too serious had happened to the village in the past couple of years, so for something like this to be so important has Sakura worried. They had just returned from a mission and already something else was happening, but just what was so important that they needed to all meet now? Before she realized it they had already reached the Hokage's building and went inside. They climbed the stairs and reached her office, but Sakura paused at the door.

"What's wrong Sakura?"

"…oh, it's nothing." She smiled lightly before opening the door. "Lady Tsunade, I'm here with Naruto."

Tsunade had the usual mound of paperwork on her desk. She didn't bother looking up from them before saying "Just in time, come in."

Lee's team, Shikamaru's team and Kiba's team were already there, standing in front of her desk. Naruto gave everyone a big grin as they all smiled back.

"Good to see you Naruto!""How ya doin'?"

"Are you any stronger?"

Tsunade interrupted the reunion by clearing her throat and finally looking up from the paperwork. She leaned back in her chair and looked around the room. "I normally wouldn't call you all at once like this, but I feel you all should know about this now. I want you all to pay close attention to what I am going to say, especially you, Naruto."

Naruto had a serious look on his face and nodded. Tsunade began to speak. "We have reason to believe that the Akatsuki will be making their move on Konoha much sooner then we thought. Garra was just their warning." The news was met with chatter about what might happen next. If the incident with Gaara was only a warning, just what were the Akatsuki capable of?

Tsunade continued once it was quiet again. "One of our allies has been collecting information on the Akatsuki as well as Orochimaru for the past three years. What she has learned will be of great importance to us and it is because of this that I have called you all here. You see.." There was a slight pause as she leaned forward onto her desk, resting her head on her folder hands. "She is a target of both of these enemies and before she ends up being killed, I have called her to come to Konoha at once."

"What?! But won't that lead them right to us?" Ino busted out.

Shikamaru added to this rebuttal. "They would have even more of a motive to attack us then if both of them are here. It would be killing two birds with one stone…"

Tsunade lifted her head up and smiled. "That's true, but they have no idea where she is."

"How are you so sure?" Neji inquired.

"She has been in hundreds of disguises the entire time she has been collecting information. No one has seen what she really looks like in years."

The room was silent for several minutes. No one knew what to say. Just who was this strange ninja and could they really trust her? There were so many questions to ask.

"But just incase they do decide to attack, I want at least one of you guard her 24/7. This will be the mission for all of you until he leaves. Do you understand?"

Everyone nodded.

Tsunade stood up and smacked her hands on the desk. "She should be here early tomorrow morning. Naruto, Sakura and Neji, the three of you will accompany me at the main gate to greet her." She reached for a folder at the top of her pile of paper and handed it to Sakura. It was a ninja log; a very thin one at that. There was no picture, no physical description or what kind of jutsu she used. It said she was from the sound village and was the only ninja to escape Orochimaru's influence alive. "That is all the information we have on her. Obviously it isn't much but at least it will give you some knowledge of who she is."

Naruto snatched the folder away from Sakura, receiving a "Hey!" which he ignored as he waved it in the air. "It says she used to work for Orochimaru! How do you know he doesn't still have some control over her?"

"Because she has no curse mark."

"…oh." Naruto lowered the paper down and looked it over again. "Did she get rid of it or something?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. He was still the idiot she had always known. "Idiot! How would you get rid of something like that?"

"I dunno..How else would she escape from Orochimaru?"

"It says here she never had one." Neji said calmly, pointing to a specific area on the paper.

"Huh? How?" Ino asked.

Neji read on. "She acted as one of his most important underlings and slowly came to earn the trust of Orochimaru." He handed the folder back to Sakura. "I guess he trusted her enough that he didn't think she needed one."

"Wow…"

"But how are we so sure that she won't do the same thing to us? What if she betrays us too?" Shikamaru's question was quickly answered by the Hokage.

"She will be killed." The blunt answer left the room quiet until she started to speak again. "I have already gone over this with her. She knows her life is on the line if she so much as mentions Konoha's name anywhere near Akatsuki or Orochimaru." Tsunade's eyes were strong and showed just how serious she was. It was then that Naruto realize they weren't dealing with any normal ninja.

"That's all I have to say. You are all dismissed."

The ninjas shuffled out of the room and went off in their separate directions. Neji met with Naruto and Sakura outside Tsunade's office to remind them about tomorrow morning before he left as well. The two team mates looked at each other for a moment before heading out as well.

The sky was dark as night had quickly taken over Konoha. Had the meeting really been that long? Sakura looked at the paperwork for the mysterious ninja as they walked home. "Just from reading her history, she seems pretty strong."

"Hey what's her name anyway?"

"You mean you didn't look at that yet?" Sakura sighed and pointed to the top of the page. "Her name is Liyuki. There's no last name given."

Naruto repeated the name and let in slid off his tongue. It was a unique name; a nice name. He liked it. The rest of the way was silent until they reached Sakura's house. The two of them smiled at each other once she reached the door. She waved with one hand while the other held on tightly to Liyuki's folder. "Don't forget Naruto, be at the main gate _early _tomorrow, ok?"

"Yea yea.."

"I mean it! Don't be late as usual!" She smiled and waved again. "See ya tomorrow." The only sound on the street was the door closing and the howl of a sudden gust of wind. Naruto stood there looking at the house for another minute or so before slowly walking to his own house. His hands in his pockets and his head down, Naruto wasn't looking forward to having to get up early the next morning, but that feeling was pushed aside once he remembered he was meeting the mysterious ninja from the sound village.

"Hopefully she'll know something about Sasuke..something…anything." The moonlight around him flickered as the passing clouds seemed to turn the only light on and off. He looked up and smiled softly, seeing his house in the distance.

"Liyuki…hmm…"

* * *

Pronounced Lee-you-key Weird name, I know XP

First chapters are never that exciting, bit it will get better! I promise!


	2. Liyuki of the Sound?

The Sound's Beautiful Song

Chapter 2 - Liyuki of the Sound?

"Naruto! Wake up you lazy bum! You're gonna make us late!" Sakura banged on the front door of Naruto's house as hard as she could without breaking it down. Neji stood to the side, arms folded and sighing.

"It's no use. Not even an earthquake could wake him up."

"Ugh!" Sakura wasted no time in bursting through the door and making her way up the stairs to Uzumaki's bedroom. She again burst through the door and ripped the coves off of her teammate. "Naruto! Wake up already! We need to go meet up with Tsunade before going to the main gate!"

A dazed Naruto felt a cool breeze caress his body and the warmth of the sun start to warm him up. He slowly opened his eyes as he came too. He then saw Sakura at the side of his bed and let out a scream, thus falling out of his warm bed on the opposite side.

"Sakura-chan! W-what are you doing here?!"

"I'm here to come get you! Hurry up and get dressed. Neji's waiting outside and we need to meet Tsunade at the main gate soon."

As if nothing had happened, Naruto nodded and stood up. "Alright! I'll meet you outside!"

Sakura sighed and made her way to the door. "You better. You have five minutes." And with that, she stepped over the unhinged door and left to go wait outside with Neji.

It wasn't long for the trio to walk to the gate. Tsunade was already there, talking with the shin obi at the desk. Naruto let out a great yawn, breaking the crisp morning air. He rubbed his eyes and smacked his lips together. "Man, does anyone know what time it is?"

"About 6:30." Neji replied calmly.

"What?!" Naruto groned. "This Liyuki better be here soon then so I can go back to sleep…"

"Who said you could go back to bed?" Tsunade made her way over the group and smirked down at Naruto, who was sitting on the floor pouting. "You three will be acting as her guides for the rest of the day. Tomorrow will be your day to sleep."

"But does she really need three guides?" Sakura inquired. "I mean, Why waist the manpower?"

"Because of this." Tsunade pulled a scroll out from inside her jacket and handed it to her apprentice. "I received this only a few days ago." Sakura slowly opened the scroll and read it out loud:

_Lady Tsunade,_

_It is with great pleasure that I inform you that I will be arriving in Konoha in only 3 days. I have much information to share with you and the other shinobi, but I am afraid that I will not be able to do this right away. On my way back from the Village Hidden in the Mist, I was attacked by what I believe to have been a spy for the __Akatsuki. I managed to escape, but it has lost me precious time. I have some serious wounds, but non I find to be life threatening. I request that I am tended to before meeting with everyone._

_Liyuki _

Sakura rolls the scroll back up and handed it back to Tsunade. "Wow. I sure hope she gets here in one piece."

Tsunade smiled as she tucked the message away again. "She's tough. She'll be fine."

The group waited for about an hour after that. Naruto had moved to a comfortable position laying down on the ground with his hands behind his head. Neji was sitting next to him along with Sakura sitting on the opposite side. Tsunade was the only one standing. She had been amusing herself with some sake that she had ordered not to long ago.

One of the ninja who was sitting at the desk came running over to the Hokage. "Lady Tsunade! Someone is approaching the gate!"

"Is it a woman?"

"I can't tell, they're wearing a hood."

She set her alcohol down on a nearby booth and looked down at the sleepy trio. "Get up. This might be her." Naruto scrambled to his feet an quickly brushed all the dust off of his clothes. Sakura and Neji did the same, but in a much calmer manner.

The hooded figure slowly made its way to the gate. It talked to the people at the front desk before being pointed to in the group's direction. Neji faintly heard the brief conversation. "It's a female."

"Then it must be her." said Naruto.

The mysterious person then began walking in their direction. A sharp wind blew back the cloak that his her body to reveal a bloody and ripped green kimono. On her back was what looked to be an equally bloodied backpack tusked under her cloak, making her appear disfigured or elderly.

The woman stopped in front of Tsunade and slowly removed her hood to reveal long black hair and dull gray eyes. There were a few small cuts that framed her pale face. She looked at Tsunade and smiled softly. "It's good to see you finally, Lady Tsunade." Her voice was very raspy, probably due to lack of water, and somewhat strained. The elderly voice didn't seem like it would go with her mid-aged body.

"Your wounds looks a lot worse then you described. Let me heal them."

She nodded slowly in understanding then glanced over to the younger shinobi. "You didn't tell me there would be guests." Neji sensed a little anger in her voice.

"Yes, well, they will be your guides while you are here. They are some of our top shinobi. Please meet Sakura, Naruto and Neji." Tsunade made a hand gesture to each of them as she listed off their name.

"It's a pleasure." The woman gestured to herself. "I am Liyuki of the Sound."

Sakura has a puzzled look on her face. "Are you sure? Because your information said you were 18 and…"She trailed off, hoping that what she was implying was silently understood.

"You're really old looking." Naruto finished Sakura's sentence for her. Sakura glared at him.

"Last time I checked, I was still me. Did you happen to read the rest of that paper?"

"..Yes…why?"

"Then you should know that this is only one of my many disguises." Liyuki smiled at Sakura but it was cut short as pain shot through her abdomen. She held her stomach to try to suppress the pain.

Tsunade placed a hand on her shoulder. "You see. Your wounds can't wait any longer."

The sound ninja could only sigh as she was led away by Tsunade. "Oh, Sakura, you can help me. Naruto and Neji, meet me in my office in a half hour."

--

"Who's late now, huh??" Naruto sat on the edge of granny's desk and crossed his arms in a huff of impatience.

"You saw her injuries, Naruto. They looked pretty serious." Neji stood a few feet from Naruto, his arms crossed as well. "I'm surprised that she managed to get here in her condition."

"Yea yea, I'd just hope they'd get her soon. I hate waiting!"

A few minutes of awkward silence later and the door was opened. Tsunade walked in and sat behind her desk. She shoed Naruto away and fixed the mess of papers his butt had messed up.

"So?" Naruto leaned over the Hokage's desk.

"So what?"

"Where are they?"

Tsunade pointed to the door and Naruto's eyes promptly followed. Sakura stood at the door with a strange woman around her arms. Naruto looked at the woman's face and his jaw dropped. Was this Liyuki?! If so, she looked nothing like what she had earlier.

Everything about her had changed. Even her eyes, which were grey, were now a bright shade of green. A birthmark, hidden before, now made itself known under her left eye. Her hair was much shorter and grey, almost white now. Naruto could see that it was shorter in the back then in the front; the longest part just barely reaching her shoulders. To replace her old clothes, Liyuki now wore a white kimono with a pale blue sash. Even her skin tone was darker. Just what kind of woman was she?

That didn't matter though. Naruto couldn't help but stare, even Neji glanced over at her several times; a slight pinkish tint to both of their cheeks. There was no doubt about it, she was very pretty, but she was not what Naruto thought she was going to look like. He imagined her to be a female version of Sasuke for some reason. Boy was he wrong.

Sakura led her over to a chair in front of the desk. She sat in the one next to it. Naruto and Neji stood in between them; Naruto next to Sakura and Neji next to Liyuki.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and looked over at Liyuki. "Because of your condition, we'll have to wait a few days before he can hold an official meeting. That will give you plenty of time to settle in to Konoha and have a tour of the village."

Liyuki nodded and had a somewhat worried look on her face. "I hope this doesn't ruin any plans you have made. I'd hate to be a burden." This time her voice sounded much younger, appropriate for her appearance. It sounded sophisticated, elegant, powerful, _seductive_.

"Not at all. Enjoy the time you have to yourself. You have no need to wear any disguises here. Now, it you will excuse me, I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on." And with that, the four shinobi left her office.

There was an awkward pause once they were outside that was quickly broken by Naruto. "Is that was you really look like?"

Liyuki smiled and extended her arms out in front of her. "Why yes, it is. I haven't seen myself in years, as stupid as that sounds."

"But how is it that you changed from costume to costume without seeing the real you?" Neji asked.

"After a while I could hardly afford new clothes, so I started layering my disguises." The group was silent again, not knowing what to say next.

"Hey, how about we show you around Konoha? Not much has changed, but it's still nice to see." Sakura gave a warm smile to Liyuki, who gave one back.

"That sounds great. You know, this is my first time here, so everything's new to me."

"What?! You've never been to Konoha before? Aren't you one of our allies?" Naruto couldn't help but blurt out his question.

"That's true, but it's been too dangerous for me to ever make a personal appearance, even with my disguises, especially when Orochimaru attacked the village. Since then I've just been very cautious. One wrong move could put me and Konoha in danger." Liyuki took a few steps forward and looked around. "Well enough of this chatter. Aren't you gonna show me around?"

Naruto jumped up and stood right in front of the sound nin. "Yea! There's so many cool places to show you."

A tiny rumble erupted from under Liyuki's kimono. She quickly grabbed her stomach and laughed nervously. "I don't suppose there's any place to eat around here is there?"

"Oh! The ram-" Sakura slammed her hand over Naruto's mouth. "Don't you dare say the ramen shop."

"But it's the best one!"

Liyuki's eyes brightened up a little bit at the thought. "Ramen? Oh, that sound delicious. If that's alright with the rest of you, of coarse."

Sakura promptly removed her hand from Naruto's mouth and gave a hesitant look. "Are you sure? There are much nicer places to eat." Neji recommended.

"With much 'nicer' prices too I bet. All I need is something to stop my stomach from grumbling." Liyuki smiled and walked towards Neji. She leaned towards him, which caused him to lean back. Not the type to show his emotions, Neji couldn't help as his cheeks turned slightly pink. "Then we can spend the rest of the day touring Konoha."

"..Yes. That sounds like a plan." Neji managed to say.

The sound nin walked passed Neji and more out into the street. She turned and looked at everyone, her hands tucked behind her back. "Now, where exactly is this ramen shop?"

* * *

Next chapter will be comming up soon! Look for it.


	3. The Siren’s Call

Lately, I've been working on some art to help you better visualize my character, Liyuki. I'll be posting them up on deviantart soon along with her bio. So stay tuned for that as well!

* * *

The Sound's Beautiful Song

Chapter 3 - The Siren's Call

Naruto lead the group to the famed ramen show, marching proudly at the front with Neji walking next to him, arms crossed. Behind him Liyuki and Sakura whispered to each other.

"Is he always this strange?" Liyuki's bright green eyes glanced over at Naruto.

"You have no idea." Sakura sighed and shook her head. "But don't let it fool you. He's actually quite strong."

The news peaked Liyuki's interests. She cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh really? We'll just have to see about that later."

Back at the front of the group, Naruto managed to stop goofing off to have his own whispering conversation. "Hey Neji, what do you think about Liyuki?"

Neji glanced over at the blonde ninja. "What do you mean?"

"Aw come on. You know what I mean." Naruto nugged Neji's side and raised his eyebrows several times. "Isn't she hot?"

He pushed him away and readjusted himself. Clearing his throat, he started to speak. "Yes, she is quite beautiful. But we can't let that get in the way of our main mission."

"What? Protecting her? That'll be easy! Neither Orochimaru or the Akatsuki would attack Konoha right now."

Neji sighed. "Not just that. The information she has is what's most important."

"Information shimformation! Who needs to hold a meeting when she's already got my attention?" Naruto flashed a cheesy grin to Neji, who sighed once again. "Idiot…"

Liyuki's stomach growled again. "Hey Naruto, just how much longer till we get there?"

"It's right around this corner!"

"Good. I'm starving!"

"Me too!" Sakura noted. "And I guess since Naruto is taking us there then that means that he's paying for everything." A sly grin crossed over her lips and Liyuki chuckled.

"W-wait a minute! Who said I was-"

"Look, we're here." Neji pointed to a small building across the street.

"Haha! Too late Naruto! Hope you brought enough money!" Sakura and the others went on ahead to the ramen shop, leaving a dumbfounded Naruto in the middle of the road. "But my tab's already really high…" He was brought back to life with a reassuring idea. "I know! I'll just put it on Iruka's tab!" He quickly ran to catch up with everyone else, who had already taken their seat.

"Four ramen please!" Naruto ordered as he took a seat next to Sakura who was next to Liyuki with Neji on the far end.

"How do you know what we want to eat? Maybe we wanted something other then ramen." Sakura huffed out.

"Something different? How do you come to a ramen shop and _not _have ramen?" Naruto and Sakura got in each other's face and growled at each other. The two broke apart to look at a chuckling sound ninja. "I must say, the relationship the two of you have is quite odd." The teammates looked at each other with a slight pinkish tint to their cheeks before sitting down again. The group sat and watching their food being prepared is silence.

Liyuki, unconscious of what he was doing, began to hum to herself. It was a slow, sweet tone that broke the a awkward tension between the shinobi. Even some of the cooks stopped what they were doing to listen. She paid no mind to the staring eyes, or rather, she didn't notice them. Her eyes closed, she was adrift in her own little world on a sea of music. Her innocent tune continued until a low cluck struck her eardrums. Her once calm sea was disrupted as she opened her eyes to see a bowl of ramen placed before her. She looked around at the others to see if they had gotten theirs as well, then she finally noticed the prying eyes.

Liyuki gave a puzzled look. "What?"

"You were just humming-" Neji started.

"A beautiful song." Finished Sakura.

The sound nin could feel the blood rush to her cheeks. She smiled nervously. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's an old habit of mine. I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Why? We didn't say we hated it." Naruto grinned behind Sakura, who smiled along with him.

"Well, best not let our food get cold!" Liyuki said as she reached for her chopsticks, changing the subject. She did her best to hide her face, which still showed the remains of a blush.

The rest of lunch was silent. Of coarse Naruto and the others had plenty of questions to ask her, but they were wise enough to know there this was not the place or time. They'd strike up small, unimportant conversations with the sound shinobi so that she would feel like one of them; feel comfortable.

They would have left much sooner but Naruto, since he was putting this on Iruka's tab, had another two bowls of ramen and once his hunger was satisfied, the group left to finish their tour of Konoha.

The sun was set high up in the midday sky, illuminating every market stand, shop and pedestrian. The weather was very beautiful as well, not too hot and not too cold and not a cloud in the sky. Liyuki smiled as she looked up. "When was the last time I saw the sky for all its glory?" she thought to herself. She hadn't noticed that she had fallen a little behind the others as she continued looking up. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sun's warm embrace, if only for a short time.

"Ow!" "Ah!"

"Liyuki!"

Liyuki was knocked down onto the dirt ground by an unknown force. She rubbed the point of impact, her stomach, and looked around to see what she hit.

Squinting, she noted a small child across from her in the same position as she. The little girl started to sniffle as she tried her hardest to hold back tears, but couldn't have been hit that hard, could she? Then Liyuki's eyes traveled to the right of her to notice a small, pink box laying on its side. It was forced open buy the fall and a little figurine could be seen inside. A gear on the bottom of the box was turning, trying to play a sweet little tune, but something was stuck. The figurine.

Liyuki, looked at the little girl to see if she was ok and saw Sakura tending to her. She then reached over to pick up the music box, freeing the figure from the depths of the dirt. She waited for the music to play, for the figure to dance, but nothing happened. Confused, she turned the gear and waited, only to get the same results. The little girl saw that her music box was broken and couldn't help the tears from rolling down her cheeks. "M-my…my music…box."

The sound shinobi kneeled before the child and wiped her tears way. "Don't worry, I can fix it." She said with a smile. The girl started to regain control of herself and watched as Liyuki placed the box on the ground. Sakura, along with Naruto and Neji, who were standing a little further back, watched as well.

Closing her eyes, Liyuki made a few hand seals then placed her hand on the box. Her hand and the box glowed a pale green for a moment before the light died out. "Now, let's see…"She carefully picked up the box and began to wind up the gear. Once she let go, the music could finally be heard. The little girl's face lit up with a huge smile. "Oh dank you, dank you, dank you!" She practically pounced on the nin, who was quite surprised. However, she managed to hug her back and smile as the little girl took the box, hugging it close to her chest.

"Wow, how'd you do that?" Naruto asked as he and Neji walked over.

"It's a sound amplifying technique. All it does is make the sound waves stronger, thus allowing the music to be heard." Liyuki stated as she stood up and brushed herself off. "Though the gears stopped, the power of the amped up sound waves was enough to cause them to move again."

"That's quite interesting." Said Neji.

Liyuki looked down to see the little girl looking up at her. She knelt back down and the two exchanged a smile. "You know, I think I've heard this song before." She paused and listened a little longer. "Yup. It was quite popular when I was a child."

The little girl showed interest in her eyes. "Do you wemember it?"

"Hmm…I thin I do. Wind it up as much as you can." Liyuki tapped the top of the box lightly. Excited, the little girl quickly cranked the gear up as much before letting it go. She, along with the others, watched Liyuki as she stood back up, brushed herself off, and started to hum with the twinkling music.

She began to sway a little, the long sleeves of her kimono following, delayed, behind her. She walked around the group slowly, her eyes drifting around the area while everyone's eyes were fixed on her. Carefully, Liyuki took in a breath and began to sing.

_Dancing Bears, _

_Painted wings, _

_T__hings I almost remember, _

Liyuki pointed an index finger to her temple.

_And a song someone sings, _

_Once upon a December _

She danced around, twirling to and fro, unknowingly attracting more eyes. She stopped in front of the little girl and hugged herself lightly, swaying.

_Someone holds me , _

_Safe and warm, _

Liyuki lept into the sky with great elegance, paying no mind to the large circle of people that had formed around her. She walked, almost skipped, around the circle, hands behind her back. The crowd was mesmerized as she twirled and sang, her flowing kimono only adding to the trance.

_Horses prance through a silver storm, _

_Figures dancing gracefully, _

_Across my memory... _

The sound nin made her way over to the little child, who was filled with excitement and glee and the woman's performance. Suddenly, Liyuki took the girl's hands and began to dance around the circle with her. She vocalized as she danced, allowing her to catch her breath. Occasionally she would flash a smile at the crowd, even one to Naruto, who could only blush in return. He knew she had to have been talented, but…_wow_…

She held her hand up and allowed the little girl to twirl back to her original spot as she began to sing the last verse again. Though the music coming from the box remained the same, Liyuki's voice began to build with power and emotion.

_Far away, _

_Long ago, _

_Glowing dim as an ember _

Liyuki had managed to sneak in a few hand seals as she danced and was able to create a small flame resting in her hands as she sang the last line. She continued to dance around with it as it grew in power, following the example of her own voice.

_Things my heart used to know _

_Things it yearns to remember.._

She fell slowly to her knees, holding the slowly dying flame above her head. The glow of the burning light created an mysterious aura around her, even in the midday sun.

_And a song Someone sings.._

The woman held out the note softly, yet there was still enough power behind it for everyone to hear. She glanced around at all the people, not even noticing them; as if she was in a daze. Her eyes stopped on her escorts. Mainly….Naruto.

_Once upon a December. _

Raising her hands gracefully above her head, Liyuki slowly leaned back as the words left her mouth. She stayed in that position for a moment before a roar of claps and cheering echoed throughout the area. By now, she had come to realization and noticed just how many people had stopped to listen to her. Aside from the giant crowd, there were people peaking out of their windows and shops. Even a few chunin and jonin wandering the streets had stopped to listen.

She stood up and smiled brightly. Once again she could feel her cheeks turn red. She hadn't gotten this much attention in…forever. It was a new feeling to her. She liked it. Liyuki bowed in gratitude to the crowd before they started to disperse. She brushed the dirt off of her now off-white kimono, The little girl came running up to her jumped up and down. "Dat was weally pwetty!"

Liyuki smiled and scratched her cheek. "Aw, it was nothing. Now you take good care of the music box, ok?" The little girl nodded before hugging the woman one last time. She watched as she ran off to her parents, then walked back to her group.

The three of them stood in silence as Liyuki walked up to them. This confused her a little bit. Did they not like it? Were they upset that she wasted their time? "Um, guys?" She said nervously.

Sakura was the first one to speak. "That…was amazing!" She suddenly perked up and had the same expressing the little girl had only moments ago.

"Quite impressive." Neji said calmly. The girls could easily spot a hint of pink on his cheeks.

Naruto remained silent. He, too, started blushing. He was speechless. What did he just witness?

"…Naruto?" Liyuki placed her hand on his shoulder, which only made the blush more noticeable.

"Wow…" He finally managed to say. "I knew you had to be talented, but…not _that _talented!"

Liyuki smiled and took her hand off him. "Hehe, it's understandable." She decided to change the subject, seeing as how the boys were still out of it. "Would you guys care to show me the rest of Konoha? I mean, I love it already, but I'd like to see what else it has to offer."

"Sure! We're love to!" Sakura chimed in. "Come on guys!" She started to push the two before being swatted away. "We can walk, thanks."

A few hours past and, now on the other side of the village, Liyuki noticed they this was more of a residential area, while before was nothing but stores and restaurants. By now, it had gotten a little darker and a few clouds started to appear. "Aww, it looks like it might rain."

Neji flicked back a piece of his hair. "Then we better show you where you'll be staying before it does."

Liyuki was slightly confused. "Staying? I though I was going to stay in an inn while I'm here."

"Now is that how we treat such a great ally?" Naruto chirped in.

Liyuki scratched the back of her head. "Well where else would I stay? I certainly don't have enough to rent out an apartment…"

Sakura smiled. "That's why you're staying with me."

"R-really?" The sound nin didn't know what to say. "Are you sure? Because it wouldn't be any trouble if I just stayed at an inn."

"Not at all! I insist." Sakura made a hand gesture towards herself.

"Plus, the Hokage ordered that you stay with someone." Neji's voice was serious. Orders were orders after all and with something this important, they had to be followed.

"Well, I guess I have to then…" Still feeling like she was being a pain, Liyuki tried to reassure Sakura. "I won't need much. I haven't slept in a descent bed in years, so there's no need to start up again now, huh?" She added a little chuckle at the end.

Sakura gasped. "Do you know how unhealthy that is! Besides, I have plenty of space and all the pillows and blankets a girl could ask for." She placed a hand on Liyuki's shoulder. "Trust me, it would be my pleasure to have you stay at my house."

There was this strange feeling that protruded Liyuki's heart. Compassion…Sure, she had received it while staying with other people, but not like this. This…was different; from the bottom of the heart. She couldn't help but smile and nod in response to Sakura.

"Good. My house is only a couple blocks down. We should be there shortly." Sakura began to walk, followed by the others.

"Hey, I can show you my house too Liyuki!" Naruto eyes lit up. "You know, just in case you get lonely."

TWUMP

"OW!" Naruto went flying through the air and into a nearby fence, leaving a raging Sakura behind. "You perv! You've been hanging out with Jiraiya too much!"

Liyuki looked over at Sakura as if nothing had happened. "Jiraiya? I've heard of him. One of the Three Legendary Sannin right?"

Neji nodded. "Naruto has been studying under him for the past three years." This was quite a shock. Jiraiya was teaching this kid? She was impressed. "He must be quite strong then."

"I told ya." Sakura had calmed down enough to speak again. "Don't be fooled by his looks…or attitude." She said the last part bitterly as Naruto stumbled his way towards the group, rubbing his jaw.

Neji felt a drip on his face as he looked up at the darkening sky. "We better get moving."

"Yea. Let's go." Sakura led the group to her house. On the way, Naruto quickly pointed his house out as they walked by. He was about to make another comment, but was stopped by Sakura's death glare. They continued on another block or so before stopping in front of a small little house.

"It may look small, but there's plenty of room inside." Sakura walked up the few stairs to unlock the front door. By now there were little rain droplets spitting here and there.

"Well I guess you two should head home too." Liyuki smiled at the two shinobi and bowed. "Thank you for escorting me today. Hopefully, you won't need to tomorrow."

"I hope no-" Neji quickly jabbed Naruto in the side with his elbow. "I uh, I mean that Granny has requested that you have a couple guides with you while you're here."

"The whole time? Oh, I'm sorry. It really isn't necessary though. I'm not as weak as I look." The seducing tone in voice suddenly came back as she said that.

"It's just a precaution." Neji tried to ignore what she had just said to avoid anymore blood rushing to his cheeks.

The rain started to come down harder. "You guys better hurry if you still want to beat the rain." The guys nodded as she smiled and waved. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow then."

Neji nodded. "Yes. Take care Liyuki." He leapt away soon after.

Naruto grinned. "Good night!" Following Neji, he too left. Liyuki followed Sakura up the stairs and into her house.

* * *

Another chapter done! Please review! If there's anything I can do to improve, just let me know. I'm open to constructive criticism. Stay tuned for the next chapter!


	4. Eyes of the Beholder

Please read AND review! I want to know if I should continue this!

PS. There's a link to a picture of Liyuki at the end of this chapter! But wait until you've read before looking at it! It might spoil this chapter for you if ya do!

* * *

The Sound's Beautiful Song

Chapter 4 - Eyes of the Beholder

"Looks like we just beat the rain." Liyuki stated as she shut the front door. The rain outside came down harshly on the village. Sakura was taking off her shoes and shook her head. "What a bummer. It was so nice out too." Liyuki copied what the pink haired shinobi did and took her shoes off as well. "Well, there's always tomorrow."

Sakura nodded and walked into the living room located to the right of the door. Directly in front of the wooden portal was a flight of stairs. The Kitchen was located behind the living room. The house was quaint, simple and cozy. It wasn't over decorated with useless items and was kept very clean. "Huh? What's this?"

Sakura pointed to a tan backpack that was laying up against the wall next to the couch. It was easy to tell that it was a traveling bag from all the wear and tear it had taken over the years. The bottom was a dark green and looked to have been sewn on by hand, like the bottom of the backpack had been completely worn out.

"Oh, that's my stuff. I thought it was still in Lady Tsunade's office." Liyuki walked over to the back, picked it up and sat it on the couch. "What's in there anyway? There can't be much. It's quite small." Sakura peeped over the sound nin's shoulder and looked inside.

"Oh, you'd be quite surprised what I can fit in here." Liyuki let out a small laugh and sat the bag down on the floor. "I have a few of my disguises, food and scrolls."

"Do they hold the information you've collected over the years?"

Liyuki nodded. "I also managed to steal a few maps of Orochimaru's hideouts."

"Wow. I have to say, I'm impressed." The girls took a seat next to each other on the couch where they continued their conversation. "To have Orochimaru trust you on such a level that you didn't get a curse mark and then escape unharmed…just _what _are you?" Sakura smiled at the last part. She didn't mean it to be rude, but that didn't mean that she didn't want to know.

Sensing this, Liyuki smiled back and laughed. "I'm only human." She then reached into her backpack and pulled out a red scroll. It was pretty beaten up on the outside. Who knew if it was still legible? She handed it to Sakura and nodded slightly. "Open it."

The pink haired nin did just that and was surprised at what she found. It was blank. "What the-?" She placed it on the nearby coffee table and spread it out to reveal even more nothingness.

"Oops! I forgot." Liyuki preformed a unique series of hand seals. "Release!"

Suddenly, the inscription on the scroll seemed to paint itself. Inside, there was a detailed drawing of what looked to be a building. Unlike the outside, the details inside the scroll looked brand new. It was filled with labyrinths and secret passageways, from what Sakura could read.

Liyuki looked at the scroll, emotionless. "It's a map of one of Orochimaru's hideouts; the one I stayed at." She pointed to the top right hand corner of the scroll, where the symbol for north was written. "The Northern Hideout."

"Wow. That's pretty far."

"True, but it gave me more time to collect information." Liyuki lightly patted her backpack. "I used all the time I could."

Suddenly a light bulb went off inside Sakura's head. "Oh, I see. You used the distance to your advantage, traveling to as many of the hideouts as you could, all the while working your way to Konoha."

She received a smile as an answer. "And it only took me three years. Plus-" Liyuki closed her eyes and quickly brought her hand up to rub them. "Ow…"

Sakura leaned forward. "Are you alright?"

"Hehe yea, just something in my eye." She stood up, opening up one eye. "Where's your bathroom?"

"Upstairs. First door on the left." Liyuki nodded and made her way upstairs. Sakura eyed the sound shinobi's bag carefully, curious to see what else was in it. She couldn't wait until the meeting, she didn't have the patients. Besides, Liyuki had already shown her something, so what was the harm of looking at a few more scrolls?

Sakura looked back at the stairs before grabbing another scroll. She looked at the outside carefully. "This one's beaten up too…" she though to herself. It looked exactly the same as the previous scroll. She placed it on the table and began to roll it out slowly. She waited anxiously for the writing to creep out, but saw nothing. "Crap, it's blank too." She sat back on the couch and tried to think of the hand seals that Liyuki had made to release the scroll's information. "It was some advance technique…" To try and remember better, she acted out the seals on her hands.

Just as she thought she had figured it out, there was a knock on her door. Sakura grumbled and quickly put the blank scroll back in the tan backpack. "Coming." she said as there was another knock. She opened the door and saw Naruto standing in front of her, soaked to the bone and grinning like an idiot. "Naruto?"

"She continued to grin and rubbed the back of his head. "Hey Sakura…mind if I spend the night here? I kinda locked myself out…"

Sakura, not believing this for a minute, crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Locked yourself? You've done that plenty of times before. How did you used to get in?"

"I'd go through the window."

"And you can't do this now, why?"

"…I can't afford to replace another window."

Sakura smacked her hand against her face. "Naruto, you're a ninja, can't you pick the lock or something?"

Naruto suddenly got nervous and started to stutter. "I uh…well, you see…um.." The light bulb clicked again and Sakura had a devious grin on her face. "You just want to have an excuse so you can spend more time with Liyuki."

The young man continued to stutter and shook his drenched head quickly, getting Sakura wet. "No no no! That's not it! I just can't get into my house and I don't want to bother any of the guys since well, I usually spend the night with them when I do this…"

Sakura sighed deeply. "I guess I have no choice. But you're sleeping on the couch!"

"Thank you Sakura!" Naruto was about ready to hug her but was stopped with a palm to the face. "You're dripping everywhere. Stay right there. I'll go get you some towels."

Naruto looked around and saw no signs of the sound nin. "Where's Liyuki."

"Bathroom." Sakura pulled a few towels out of the closet located under the stairs and tossed then to her comrade. "She said something was in her eye." All Naruto said was "Oh." before taking off his jacket and shirt and hanging them on the nearby coat rack to drip dry. He first started to dry off his upper body and rubbing his hair so much that when he removed the towel, he had an afro.

Sakura had turned away once he started taking off his shirt and had gone into the kitchen. Being a medical ninja, she should be used to the human body, both male and female, right? "I guess I'm just not used to _his_." she whispered softly to herself as she got everyone a glass of water, working slowly to allow the blush to clear her cheeks.

The sound of light footsteps for be heard coming from atop the stairs. Naturally curious, Naruto glanced up to see Liyuki making her way down. He squinted his eyes slightly. Something was different about her, again. She still wore the white kimono and he noticed that she had put her hair back into a small bun, a few stray hairs here and there, but there was nothing else. Finally the two made eye contact and Naruto was slightly taken back.

"Her eyes…" he though to himself. They had changed for the third time that day. Before it was brown to green, but now, her eyes were, well, for lack of a better word; strange.

They weren't normal. Not in the slightest. It was like they were inverted. Where it was white on a normal eye, there was a pine green color in hers and what should be a colored iris was now white. It didn't look like there was a pupil either. Naruto had never seen anything like it and so he couldn't help but keep his eyes locked with hers, completely oblivious that he was causing the Sound girl to blush. "Naruto..?"

Sakura walked into the living room with the three glasses of water and sat them down on the table next to the scroll. "Oh hey Liyuki. Naruto's gonna be spending the n-" Sakura looked over at Liyuki and saw the strange new eyes. Unlike Naruto, she broke herself from starring. "Liyuki? What…what's with your eyes?" She didn't mean to be rude, but there was no other way to put it.

Liyuki glanced over to her left, looking at Naruto. He, too, had broking his trance-like stair, though he still was looking at her. Sakura's question was painted all over his face. "They are my natural eyes." She sighed and walked over to her bag, pulling out a small container. She placed two clear items in them that had been sitting in her fingertips and placed it back in the bag. "Well, not 'natural', obviously, but they are my real eyes; without all the smoke and mirrors." She took a seat in the middle of the couch and picked up a glass of water. She looked into it for a moment, seeing the reflection of her eyes, before taking a sip.

Naruto had finished drying himself off as best he could. Both he and Sakura walked over to the couch and sat down on opposite sides next to Liyuki. "So, you were wearing contacts?" Naruto asked, glancing over at her backpack.

Liyuki nodded. "Because my eyes are so different, I have to. Otherwise, it's too obvious who I am."

There was a slight pause. "Were you born with those eyes? Is it a bloodline trait?" Both Sakura and Naruto lend forward as Liyuki lent back on the couch.

"Neither. The eyes you saw before, the normal green ones, were like the ones I was born with. What you see now is the result of one of Orochimaru's experiments." Her voice was null and lacking emotion, almost monotone. By this time in her life she had come to terms with what had gone on under Orochimaru's control but it still wasn't one of her fondest memories. She glanced between the other two nin and, by reading the looks on their faces, knew they were going to ask more questions. She sighed before continuing.

"It was one of the first experiments Orochimaru conducted after I had joined up with him. E said he simply wanted to try to transfer the powers of the deceased to the living. He was going to use a lowly prisoner, but I offered to be a part of it." She looked down at the glass of water that she was still holding. "I guess after seeing him destroy my village, I wanted power so that I could one day bring him down. Nevertheless, the experiment was conducted and was a complete failure." She paused to take a sip of the clear liquid. "I would have walked away without a scratch, but I turned back to watch as the other specimen's body started to glow. The next thing I knew, his body was completely inside-out." Liyuki's face showed no emotion the entire time she spoke. Not knowing what to do or say, Naruto and Sakura sat in silence. Liyuki took the opportunity to say one last thing.

"I should be glad that I was still alive, though I couldn't see for quite some time afterward." She set her glass down on the coffee table. "That is, until Kabuto healed me."

Sakura suddenly found the urge to speak. "He…healed you?"

Liyuki nodded. "Under Orochimaru's orders, but still. He isn't completely evil. His inner medical nin compels him to heal anyone, no matter who's side they're on."

Naruto lent back and let his body be absorbed by the couch. He was still trying to process her story. His thought then quickly drifted over to Sasuke. Just what had he undergone under Orochimaru?

The sound nin glanced over at Naruto and smiled softly. "I know what you're thinking, and don't worry. Sasuke hasn't been experimented on. Orochimaru has only been making him stronger." Naruto looked over at Liyuki and was suddenly relieved. He wasn't sure why, but just hearing her say that made him smile back at her.

"Well, I'm sorry to have made such a depressing mood." Liyuki said, scratching her cheek with her index finger. Sakura chuckled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It's nice that you're comfortable enough with us to tell us this." Naruto nodded in agreement from behind. He reached for his glass of water when he finally realized the open scroll sitting on the table. "Oh? What's this?"

"A map Liyuki managed to get of one of Orochimaru's hideouts up north." Sakura stated. The three ninja leaned over to better examine the map. "It's huge! And look at all the tunnels. How would you _not _get lost in that place?" Naruto exclaimed.

"You got used to it after a while, but in the beginning I felt like a rat stuck in a maze." Liyuki pointed to several areas on the map, tracing a path as she did so. "See, there's the entrance….this long hallway was full of prisoners….then down here was the training area…..the experiments were conducted in the far back of the hideout and all the way to the left was where Orochimaru, Kabuto, myself and few select others would sleep."

The two Konoha shinobi were dumbfounded. "It seems like so much for a hideout, especially if he had several different ones." Sakura said while drinking some of her water.

Liyuki nodded in agreement. "That's what I thought, but we would have to move from hideout to hideout on a moments notice. We needed everything to be at the hideouts before we got there, since we couldn't carry much with us."

"That makes sense, I guess." Naruto said before finishing the rest of his water.

Liyuki then looked out the large front window to see it was completely pitch black outside. Her eyes drifted over to a grandfather clock in the corner which read a little past 10 o'clock. "Wow, I didn't realize just how much time had passed…" Sakura and Naruto also looked at the clock. "I guess we should get ready for bed then." Sakura said as she stood up. She took the now empty glasses off the table and walked back into the kitchen.

Naruto grinned and stood up as well. "Yea. We still have a lot to show you Liyuki. And I bet all of our friends are just dying to meet you." The blond haired ninja received a smile.

"Where will you be sleeping Naruto?" Liyuki leaned closer to the coffee table and preformed a few hand signs. The image in the scroll began to fad away before she began rolling it up.

"On the couch. I'm used to it though." Naruto grinned again.

Sakura came out of the kitchen and walked over to the closet. "I'm sure you are." She pulled out a pillow and a blanket and tossed them at Naruto. "Try not to break anything while you're down here."

"Now why would I do that, Sakura?"

"Well the last time you stayed here you rolled out of the bed and broke the nightstand." She said, crossing her arms. Naruto laughed sheepishly. Sakura rolled her eyes and looked at Liyuki. "I'll show you to your room."

"Alright." She grabbed her beaten backpack and followed Sakura up the stairs. Before she disappeared from site, she looked over at Naruto. "Good night." and continued her way up to her room. He waved and repeated her words back. "Good night."

Smiling, Naruto plopped down on the couch and made himself comfortable. It was too hot for the blanket, so he let it sit on the coffee table. It wasn't long before he drifted into his own little dream world and he made sure everyone in the house knew it through his obnoxious snoring.

* * *

Another chapter done! Come on guys, please leave me some comments! I wanna know what you think! Also! I have a little headshot of how Liyuki looks! Yay for visual aids!

**Click here!** -- xxhazelangel09xx./art/OC-83603616


End file.
